Assifuddin may be deaf, but he's got a lot to say

6 year old Assifuddin is a child of migrant labour at a tailoring shop who was recently diagnosed with hearing impairment. Along with his 2 elder brothers, he is a student at Swavlamban Education Centre where he is getting education. The counsellor observed that although he could copy the notes from the blackboard he was unable to do the same when dictated.

He was immediately taken to the ENT specialist at the Swavlamban Health Clinic where he was diagnosed with congenital deafness. With a little probing his parents mentioned that at the age of one Assifddun had fallen from the roof of the house and remained unconscious for a day. The doctor attributed the deafness in probability to the incident and declared that he was 100% deaf. However, he advised that the child will have to use hearing aid and with proper intervention he could be trained to speak.

The counsellor helped Assifuddin with the audiometry tests at Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital where he was issued a disability certificate. He was then taken to Hearing Hope, a centre for hearing and speech therapy. The generous donor, HEAL FOUNDATION agreed to bear the expenses for Assifuddin's hearing aid. He is currently undergoing the therapy sessions along with his mother who is also being trained to take care of the machine and enable the child to learn to speak by lip reading.

ABOUT SWAVLAMBAN

Project Swavlamban is a United Way Delhi's initiative launched in September 2015 with the aim to impact 32,000 lives by building self-reliant communities through targeted interventions in Education, Health and Livelihood. Sponsored by Heal Foundation and implemented by United Way Delhi's 4 community partners (Khushii, Navshristi Foundation, Nipun and Prayatn); 'Swavlamban' will be operational at two of the Delhi's largest resettlement colonies: Sangam Vihar and Kapashera. The Swavlamban Education Centre is located in Sangam Vihar.